Sudden silence
by Ahai
Summary: During an orchestra performance Austria collapse. After that his hearing disappear and he doesnt know how to handle it...
1. Chapter 1

Austria tried to tie his tie as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. No matter how many times he tried, he never succeeded. Austria did know how to do it, the reason for not being able now was because of wildly shaking hands. Austria was very nervous for tonight as he was going to perform with the orchestra for the first time. He has been in orchestra practices for a long time. The others from the said practices found Austria quite talented and wanted him to take part in a performance. Austria accepted since he wanted to show and share everything he has learned along with the others he has practiced with. The orchestra had a yearly performance and this year Austria was going to take part of it. Even though Austria is a country and has been through wars and participated in many good and not so good situations no ordinary human could ever do, Austria felt as if he was going to have a nervous breakdown. Music was very important to him, he feared if something was going to go wrong he, and the people of his country, would be mocked for many generations. Austria also had a slight stage fright.

Austria tried tying for the 13th time but it didn't go any better.

"Scheiße!" Austria cursed.

"This is the first time for a while I have heard you curse, drágám"

His wife, Hungary, stood by the door. She wore an emerald green gown with matching long gloves and her long, wavy hair was tied up in an elegant ponytail. Austria got his breath taken away by the view. Hungary looked absolutely stunning; she had to be the most gorgeous woman in the world! He was so happy how his fight spirited wife was able to look so sophisticated. Of course, Austria loved her for who she was, but it was just so nice to see how she was easily able to fit in his "style". Hungary styled herself up so well for his performance. Austria was both happy and not happy for that. He was happy Hungary came along to support him but it also made it more dreading for him if he failed and his own wife would witness it.

"Here, let me help you with that" Hungary stepped forward.

Austria let go of what he was doing. Tying his tie or fiddling with it, he wasn't really sure.

"Danke…" Austria said.

Hungary loosened up the knotty mess Austria made and started tying it properly.

"What is the matter? You never mess up when tying the tie…"Hungary said as she was making the knot.

Austria turned his look to the wall as he didn't want eye contact with Hungary as he explained.

"I-I-I am so nervous; I don't think I can do this…" Austria stuttered.

Hungary put her hand to his cheek so Austria automatically made eye contact with her. Her grass green eyes looked gently at him.

"It's all going to be just fine, don't you worry. You have played with the orchestra many times"'

"Only at rehearsals, but I haven't played in front of a big audience. What if I mess it up? What if I forget how to play the instrument? What if they all laugh at me?" Austria got more and more panicky and was almost hyperventilating.

Hungary put her other hand to the other side of his face so she was now cupping both his cheeks.

"Take a deep breath and calm down" She said.

Austria breathed in and out slowly and Hungary followed suit. Hungary stroked his cheeks down to his waist.

"Just relax, drágám. Don't think like that, I know you can do it. If anyone mocks you, they will certainly hear something from me" Hungary kissed his cheek.

Austria knew Hungary would take action if something bad happened to him, but it would be more than just saying something to them… Austria looked at his reflection in the mirror. Hungary tied his tie perfectly.

"Danke" Austria said.

"We have to go so you won't be late. Are you ready?"

"I suppose I am" Austria said.

He and Hungary put on their coats. Austria took Hungary's hand and they went out.

"

Austria felt as if his heart was about to beat its way out of his chest. The whole orchestra hall was completely crowded! Just to be sure, Austria listed up things that had to be ready before the performance in his head:

Was the violin tuned? Yes. Were his clothes proper and clean? With Hungary checking for him, yes. Did he remember the earplugs? Austria dug in his pockets. No, he didn't remember. The earplugs weren't there! Before getting more panicky, Austria tried to think this through. He would never even ask others to "borrow" their earplugs and he knew they never brought extras. Besides, they needed their earplugs themselves. Austria didn't think of it as a big deal. He raised Italy, who screamed "Nooooo!" a lot during that time. Italy might have been pretty small back then but his screams were loud enough to crack the windows. Thinking those thoughts, Austria relaxed. This was not some rock concert; he didn't really need them for playing sophisticated music. Despite this little thing forgotten, he was ready to perform.

The stage was big with 2/3 of it being a flat floor at front and 1/3 in the back with three step stairs. Austria was one of them on the top step, standing almost in the middle along with other violin players and a few with the triangle. Austria placed the end of the violin to his neck and looked at the audience with a calm expression. As the conductor started waving, the orchestra started playing.

Austria managed to play the violin perfectly, nothing was forgotten. However, he was feeling uncomfortable. It was not stage fright or fear of messing up, he felt as if his arms were playing for him automatically. The music next to both his sides and those under in front of him felt like sharp slicing to his ears. The sound was not bad, it was really nice music, but it was just a bit loud and pressuring. Being in the middle and in the back of the stage made him feel cramped and choking. The sweat poured down his forehead and down his back, his breathing was getting heavier. His vision was getting foggy and without any preparation, he collapsed. As the ones in front of him could feel his weight falling on them, they moved out of reflex so Austria flumped on the second step and rolled down to the first step and then to the flat floor. The whole orchestra stopped playing. The people on the stage crowded around the unconscious Austrian.

"Move, give him some air!" Hungary appeared on the stage to take a look at what happened to her husband.

Hungary ran toward her man on the floor and dropped down on her knees in front of him. Austria didn't move but he was breathing. The breathing was heavy and he was soaked out of sweat, it looked like he just rolled in a puddle.

"Someone, call an ambulance!" Hungary yelled.

Hungary put his head on her lap and dried his forehead with a paper tissue she got from her purse.

"Hold on, the help is on its way" She said to his unconscious form.


	2. Chapter 2

Austria's situation didn't look so bad. He regained consciousness in the ambulance as it drove halfway to the hospital. He was a bit dizzy, but who wouldn't be after flumping down on the steps and the floor? Hungary held Austria in her arms and rested her chin on top of his head. As she rubbed his back to comfort him, she could feel how moist his shirt was from the sweat he perspired during the performance. The paramedics in the ambulance told Hungary to keep Austria awake. Austria didn't seem to be so sleepy; he was more dazed and distant.

"Austria? My sweet Roderich?" Hungary tried to get some contact with him.

He didn't react at the sound of Hungary's voice; she had to shake him in order to get his attention. Even when she did get his attention Austria wouldn't say much. Did he injure his head when he collapsed? Hungary asked the paramedics if this was something serious. They reassured Hungary he would snap out of this state soon and he would be taken care of when they arrived the hospital.

"

Hungary saw her husband from a glass wall, he wore things resembling big earphones. A doctor pushed buttons on a machine. Hungary saw as the doctor pushed a button, Austria looked confused and shook his head. After that session, Austria was taken to another room with another doctor escorting him. Hungary could have gone in there with him, but she chose not to. Austria looked so dazed when they were in the ambulance, so she decided to give him some space till he was completely "back to earth". Hungary walked nervously back and forth the hallway. Another reason for not coming with Austria was that she was too scared to be there and to hear if the checkup didn't go well. Normally she did her best to look on the bright side but after the ride in the ambulance, she wasn't sure she could. She knew how her husband was like, the years of wars was an example. Austria got beaten up badly and it took a long time for him to fully recover. Of course, fighting wars and falling down on steps were two completely different things, but he was very nervous before the performance so that might have weakened his energy somehow.

"I shouldn't have pressured him to perform…" Hungary whispered to herself, feeling tears pressuring her eyes.

She didn't have the chance to cry as the doctor came out and walked towards her. Hungary stood by the door at first but being so into her worry, she didn't realize she stopped up her nervous "march" and now stood far away from the door. She did her best to not look upset as the doctor approached her.

"How is he?" Hungary asked.

The doctor looked through the papers in the file he held.

"He fell hard, so it left him some light bruises. Luckily he did not receive any head injuries"

Hungary felt the lump in her throat loosen.

"Thank god…" She said.

"But something physical did happen to him" The doctor said.

Hungary felt her heart skip a beat.

"What…what happened to him?" Hungary asked nervously.

"Did your husband fall on his sides?" The doctor asked.

Hungary thought back at the performance as Austria collapsed. When he collapsed on the step he hit his left side on the second step, face down on the first step and then he fell on the floor and hit his right side.

"Y-yes…Why?" Hungary said.

"Oddly enough those falls didn't injure his nose or skull, but his eardrums are hurt. I really don't understand how that could be possible. ..Wait, didn't he perform for an orchestra?"

Hungary nodded.

"That might explain it. The paramedics who were in the ambulance couldn't spot him wearing any earplugs, so that means maybe someone took them off before the ambulance arrived or he never wore them in the first place"

"It must be the latter, doctor. I was very quick to come up on the stage so the ones on the stage barely got to touch him. Neither did I take anything out of his ears" Hungary said.

The doctor took out the paper at the bottom of the little paper stack.

"During the hearing test he only scored 5 out of 30. As I was checking him, he said he could only hear ringing and could not hear the surroundings. Despite the injured eardrums, the hair cells in his inner ears are hurt as well."

"Will he be well again?" Hungary asked.

"It's hard to say. The case with his ears doesn't look so good now, all that can be done for now is to see how it will go as the time pass. Tinnitus can go away in a few hours or several days but it can also be a permanent damage."

"I see…Thank you doctor"

Hungary was glad Austria didn't get seriously injured, but she got more worried. She remember one time she dragged Prussia to a lecture about what would happen if you stayed to long at a concert. One of the risks was to get tinnitus and they got to hear a recording of what tinnitus sounded like. Hungary found that sound very annoying and sort of torturing after listening to it for 2 minutes. The lecture did affect Prussia and made him leave earlier at concerts. But the thing that occupied Hungary's mind now was the sound of tinnitus and the fact Austria had it now. Poor Austria! If it was torturing for Hungary after only 2 minutes, just imagine how torturing it must be for Austria having to hear it all the time. Hungary hoped his current condition would disappear.

"

The couple came home at 3 am. The evening orchestra didn't last long after the incident but the trip and the checkup at the hospital did. They just made themselves ready for bed and did nothing else. Austria didn't say a word to Hungary on the way home or while he was getting ready for bed. When they were done and got to bed, Austria leaned his head into Hungary's neck.

"The sound won't go away…" Austria mumbled to Hungary.

Austria sounded sad and tortured and looked very much like it as well. Hungary put her arms around her husband and rubbed his back. Austria clutched himself to Hungary's body and got all silent again.

"_It's painful to see you like this, my love. I hope it will get better"_ Hungary thought.

It was no point for her to say it to him since he couldn't hear anything now.


	3. Chapter 3

The morning sun shone on Austria's face. The sunshine warmed his face but also annoyed him so he was drifted out of his sleep, slowly and surely. The more Austria regained his consciousness, the more he noticed this one thing: Silence. The ringing in his ears was completely gone! Austria felt relieved. He went to bed late yesterday because of this whole awful trip to the hospital after this failed performance. Austria didn't dare show his face in public for a while. Falling on the steps did hurt but his pride was very fragile as well. Austria lifted up his arm. There were some light bruises on it. He could only imagine how many bruises, if it was possible, his pride had. As Austria flumped his arm back down, he felt as though something sliced his heart and poured cold water on him. He lifted his arm and flumped it down again. No sound. He couldn't hear the sound of the duvet being hit by his arm! Austria panicked and started to hit the mattress violently. Hungary came running in to the room.

"Austria! What are you doing?!" Hungary exclaimed.

Austria stopped hitting the mattress as he saw Hungary stand in front of their double bed. Hungary had a shocked and worried expression on her face. He could see she was exclaiming loudly, but he couldn't hear a thing she said.

"I can't hear!" Austria yelled.

Hungary immediately stopped talking. She was shocked by what Austria said and by the volume of his voice. She never knew Austria was able to yell so loudly! Austria crawled to the end of the bed and gripped Hungary's waist. His grip was not hard but it was still firm, as if he was going to drown or something.

"I can't hear the ringing in my ears, I can't hear your voice, and I can't hear myself talk!" Austria panicked more and more.

Hungary was stunned at the sight and by the actions of her husband. Never in her whole life has she seen him so panicky. He was always so calm in scary and pressuring situations, like wars and economic crisis. But now he looked like a child whose bad conscience broke and was ready to confess all bad things he has done. Hungary gripped Austria's upper arms. Unlike Austria's, Hungary's grasp was harder.

"Really?! You can't hear anything?" Hungary said and she was getting a bit panicky as well.

Austria looked sadly at Hungary as she spoke. Her mouth was moving, but there was no sound. Austria pressed his face to her abdomen. Since Hungary didn't receive any answer to her question, she decided to do a final test.

"Austria, do you like cake? Do you speak German? Is it alright with you that Prussia sneaks into our room and fuck me every night?"

She felt really bad for asking the last question but since he didn't react at all on anything, it was a solid proof: Austria was now completely deaf.

"

Austria sat by the saloon table with a cup of coffee in his hands. He was still in his pajamas and despite holding the coffee cup for a while; he drank nothing from it. He looked around the room rapidly as if he suddenly ended up in a completely unknown place. How could complete silence be so awful? Out from the window he saw how the trees and the bushes were blown by the wind. Many children thought the sound of the wind was a scary sound but to Austria it was even scarier to see how the wind blew without a sound. He even wanted the ringing in his ears back. The sound was torturing and annoying, yes, but at least it was a sound…

Hungary patted Austria's shoulder. Austria turned his head and saw Hungary carry a notebook in her hands and a sad expression on her face. She wrote in the notebook:

"_I think we must go to the doctor" _Hungary wrote.

Austria shook his head.

"No. I don't want any confirmation of my deafness; I know my condition perfectly well!" No matter how loud Austria yelled, it was still quiet as death.

"_Maybe something can be done" _Hungary wrote.

"I strongly doubt it. If nothing could be done for the tinnitus, how can something be done for the deafness?"

Hungary was about to write something but Austria put his hand on her writing hand.

"I don't want to communicate with you like this, Hungary. I want to hear your voice again; I want to hear everything again. I don't even know if I speak correctly, I can only feel my throat vibrate and my mouth move but I can't hear my words. Who knows how long it will take for me to lose the ability to talk. But does it matter? It's not like I need it anymore anyway…"

Austria rose up from his chair and walked away. Hungary remained seated by the saloon table with Austria's now cold, untouched coffee on it. Hungary had the feeling she had to go after him but let it be. Austria was in the state of shock and despair; she had to let the situation sink into him a bit. But would he be able to? How was it like to become deaf if you were a musician?

"

Austria, now out of his pajamas and in casual wear, stared at his piano. He was on the verge of crying.

"_I can never play again"_ Austria thought.

Austria found a little bright spot. He could still hear his own thoughts, well, kind of. But his inner voice was not enough. Austria loved music and now he wouldn't be able to hear it anymore. How Beethoven managed to compose music deaf was beyond him, the thought of making music without being able to hear sounded impossible. The joy of making music and the whole point of doing it was because of the sound. How could his life chance after just a day?

"_I guess it's goodbye to this"_ Austria thought and turned around.

After closing the door to his music room, he walked in the hallway and opened the exterior door. He had no idea where he was headed to; he just felt like he needed to walk. He could walk as long as he wanted to but there would be no place to find his hearing.


	4. Chapter 4

After getting dressed, Hungary went into the living room and sat down on the sofa. She got deeply in her thoughts but found no answer for her wonderings. How could tinnitus suddenly turn into deafness? And would Austria be deaf forever? Hungary had no idea if there was anything that could cure deafness, not even the doctors knew. Hungary would do anything to make her husband happy again; even if she had to sell her soul to God if that could make him retrieve Austria's hearing. If Austria never got his hearing back then many things had to be done. Austria had to drop out from the orchestra, Hungary had to learn sign language, the house had to rearrange alarms and such so deaf people would be aware whenever the alarms went… Hungary knew Austria would hate all this, she hoped his hearing would come back. Hungary got up from the sofa and looked for Austria. Hungary could at least comfort him without the need of sounds. She could hug him tight, rub him and give him kisses, after all some actions spoke louder than words. But there was one problem: She couldn't find him. Hungary looked around everywhere, high and low, in the house.

"Roderich! Roderich!"

Hungary had no idea why she called his name, he wouldn't respond to it. She seemed to not care as she just kept on calling his name and look for him as her worry rose. But there was no use, he was gone. Hungary grabbed her coat and cellphone and rushed out of the house. She looked desperately around as she was dialing hers and Austria's friends numbers.

"_Oh_ _drágám, where could you have gone?" _Hungary said inside herself.

"

This was unnatural in so many ways. After walking out of the house completely absentminded, Austria ended up at the market. He didn't plan to go there, well, he couldn't even if he wanted since he had no sense of directions, but this was the place he randomly ended up to. He remembered he used to complain on how much commotion there was at the market whenever he and Hungary went shopping. It was much worse to be at the market with no sound. Austria could see all the lively movements, salesmen yelling at each other both happily and angry and some people playing with loud instruments. Seeing all this but not hear anything was so wrong. Austria felt as if he was trapped in a soundless bubble and was shut out from all sounds. Even though it was hard, or practically impossible, Austria tried to remain calm. The visually vulgar but completely silent market made his heart beat faster of anxiety. Austria dug in his pockets and picket up some piece of paper which was a 50 euro note. Austria looked around. Maybe if he shopped something he would get his mind on something else. Usually he was pretty frugal, but he didn't think of it or care about it now. There was more show at the market today than many things to buy. Austria got his eyes on a liquor store. He wasn't really fond of alcohol, many of them used to burn his throat when he swallowed it. But maybe that could be a solution, feel another pain so you would be distracted from the current pain. Austria went in to the liquor store.

There were many selections: Wine, champagne, rum, vodka and much more. Austria wanted to find something that he knew tasted really awful. But that was not hard to figure out what: Beer. Oh my, how Austria hated the taste of beer! He remembered Prussia invited him and Germany out to go drink at a bar once. Austria took one sip of a glass of beer that Prussia gave him and spat it right out at Prussia as the liquid came in contact with his tongue. Austria picked up a six pack ring of beer. He didn't know what kind or what the name of the beer was, but beer was beer to him. Austria put the six pack on the counter to pay.

"You want this?" The salesman asked.

Austria saw he was speaking but had no idea what he said. He just nodded.

"Alright, that will be 22 €" He said.

Austria knew he said the price but he couldn't hear how much, but 50 euros was more than enough for a six pack of beer. Austria handed him the 50 euro note.

"Oh my, that is quite a lot! You're a millionaire or something?" The salesman said in a humorous tone.

Austria saw the salesman was laughing and joking. Austria was not so fond of hearing jokes from people who was supposed to work, but the soundless version was worse.

"Please stop talking. I can't hear anything, I am deaf" Austria said sternly and pathetically.

The salesman shut his mouth and handed over the six pack of beer and the change. Austria walked towards the door with his eyes on the ground.

"Hey, watch where you are going!"

Austria bumped into a big scary man with tattoos and piercings. Austria looked up at him confused as he saw the man yell at him.

"What's with that look? Are you deaf or something?!" The man yelled even louder.

"Yes, he is" The salesman said from his counter.

The big man also shut his mouth and moved to the side so Austria could walk out of the door without any problems. Austria got even more confused. How come the man was angry at him and then he suddenly became polite and empathetic? Austria hoped he wouldn't meet up with any other people while going away from the market.

With his no sense of directions, Austria ended up near a bridge. Austria was tired of walking with a six pack of beer in his hand, so he went down under the bridge. It was actually a nice place. It was all clear with no people or other things that caused commotion; it was only grass and a lake in the middle. Austria laid down on his back to the ground and looked up at the sky. Even alone without any people or soundly things, hearing nothing was still torturing. Austria turned his head and looked at the beer bottles. Austria sat up and took out one of the bottles.

"Here I go…" Austria mumbled.

He opened the cork of the beer bottle with a little rock, put the edge to his lips and started drinking. Austria almost spat it out as a reflex but managed to chug it down. It worked! The awful taste and the force drinking helped him to get his mind of that instead of his deafness. The blissful, and at the same time awful, moment didn't last long as he drank up the bottle. He took another bottle of beer and then one more after the other as he chug them all down. Austria felt as if he was going to throw up. His stomach felt very twisted and he was also very woozy from the alcohol. He couldn't see clearly, everything was spinning. It was spinning and soundless as Austria became aware of his deafness again. In the state of deliriousness and even more despair, Austria smashed one of the empty beer bottles to a big rock nearby. He picked up the biggest piece of glass and started to cut his arms. Austria could barely feel anything. Even though he cut himself very deep, it felt as if mosquitos were biting his arms. In his mind it was only mosquito bites, but in reality he was now covered in blood by the massive open cut wounds. Out of more and more blood loss, Austria collapsed.

The fogginess around him was getting darker and darker.

"I guess it's all over for me…" Austria said quietly before he completely lost consciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

It was such an extraordinary feeling. Austria had no idea where he was, everything was so faint around him. He felt as if he was floating in the middle of nowhere in a state between awake and asleep. He could hear screaming and other panicky sounds somewhere but the sounds didn't affect him, despite the sound of panic it was also tranquil. This experience… It was like being under water, but you could breathe and didn't have to hold your breath. Austria remembered what he did. Drank six bottles of beer, smashed a bottle and cut his arms. The newly made memories were slowly fading and Austria could also feel himself fade.

"_Am I dead?"_ Austria thought.

Normally others would freak out or get deeply depressed if they found out they were dying. Austria however was indifferent. He neither felt unwillingness or will to die. He felt so free in this state and in this unknown nowhere place. He felt like a feather flowing around high above the sky. No one expected anything from him, nothing could harm him, heaviness didn't exist and all in all, nothing could ever bother him.

Then suddenly Austria felt some pressure in his chest. It came and went in second gaps. It wasn't painful but it wasn't a blissful feeling either. The more he could feel the pressure come, the more he felt a will to be alive. Austria looked around stressfully. This place of nowhere was slowly disappearing somehow and Austria felt as if he was falling asleep again even though he wasn't even tired or controlling this action himself.

"

"1, 2, 3, clear!" Yelled a doctor to the other doctors around him as he gave Austria shock through the defibrillator electrodes.

Hungary didn't see but she heard it loud and clear from her position next to the door outside the operation room. Tears were streaming down her face behind the hand she covered her eyes with. What an awful thing for her to see! After Hungary left the house to look for Austria, she called Germany and Spain to assist her. After about an hour, Spain called her and said he found Austria underneath a bridge, which she was nearby that moment. She ran as fast as he could towards the destination and almost collapsed when she arrived. It was not because Hungary was tired; it was because of the sight of Austria and the state he was in. Right in front of her laid Austria on the ground, unconscious, arms, and the ground around him, drenched with his blood. Hungary used to fight a lot in her youth and still sometimes joins or starts brawls, so she was not at all scared of blood. But the sight of her bleeding husband almost made her puke, she was unable to touch him even though she really wanted to fall on her knees next to Austria, grab his shoulders and shake and yell at him till he woke up. Spain put an arm around her shoulders and gently guided her head to his chest while Germany called for an ambulance.

The door opened and a doctor came out. Hungary dried off her tears and looked at him.

"Your husband went through the operation"

Hungary felt it burst in her heart. Tears were pressuring to come out of her eyes, but this time tears of happiness.

"Thank goodness!" Hungary exclaimed and supported herself to a wall so she could remain standing.

"He did lose a lot of blood; the cuts on his arms were quite deep. But after a while in the hospital he will recover just fine" The doctor said.

"Can I see him?" Hungary asked.

"Yes, but be careful to touch him. Just in case"

"I understand, thank you doctor!" Hungary said and rushed along with the doctors who were taking Austria to the hospital room he was going to stay.

"

Austria was in a world of nothingness once again. Complete darkness and no bliss. But a light was getting lighter and lighter and it was spreading everywhere as well. He heard muffled sounds getting louder and louder too. Wait a minute…Sounds?

"_I am able to…hear again?" _Austria thought.

Suddenly everything disappeared.

Sharp lights hit him like a lightning. Austria found himself lying in a bed in a room with neutral colors. His head hurt and he felt dizzy. His arms were covered up with bandages and wires were inside, leading to a machine they were connected to. His hand was held by Hungary's hands. Hungary rested her head on the bedside, sound asleep. Austria got worried. How long has Hungary been here? Did she find him after what he did to himself? Slowly Austria raised the hand Hungary wasn't holding to, and put it on the top of her head. He patted her head lightly.

"I am sorry, liebe…" Austria whispered to his sleeping wife.

Austria stopped up everything he was doing, breathing included. He heard it, he heard himself whisper! So this nothingness was no dream, it was real all along? Austria wanted to speak some more, so he could be sure if he really could hear again.

"I am Roderich Edelstein, known as the nation Austria, I am married to Hungary, I hate Prussia…" Austria randomly said.

He could hear every single word he said, loud and clear. Austria talked very loudly, so Hungary woke up. Austria watched Hungary's head rise up from the bedside. She never let go of his hand as she rose up. It didn't take long for Hungary to notice the now conscious Austria. Her face lightened up with widened eyes and a big smile. But that didn't last long; those features were very soon replaced by angry features.

"What the hell were you thinking, Roderich?! Getting lost and then try to kill yourself! Don't you think I would do anything to help you with this whole shit?!" Hungary yelled at him.

Never in his life was he happy to be scolded by Hungary. Normally he would be scared of her whenever she was angry, but now he was really happy to hear her mighty anger through her voice. It made him just sit on the bed with a smile on his mouth.

"Why the fuck are you smiling?!"Hungary said.

Hungary was the kind of woman to cry or show concern as she was worried, but there were times she would swear and be really angry when she was very, very worried and let it all out when the worrisome situation was taken care of.

"I am so sorry for all this, liebe. My mind was completely lost during this "whole shit", but I have the feeling everything will be alright from now on" Austria said to Hungary.

Hungary was speechless right away when Austria finished what he said. She sat up on the bedside and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"You…heard me..? Hungary asked after a little moment of silence.

"Every word" Austria said.

"Oh, drágám!" Hungary threw herself at Austria.

Austria heard Hungary sniffle into his shoulder. He embraced her back and started crying quietly himself. It was such a wonderful feeling! How everything became a silent nightmare and after a trip to the "nowhere place", he came back to life with everything back. He did feel bad for what he did. Not only towards himself, but also towards his wife. He would from now on hope a situation like this would never happen again.

The doctor who diagnosed Austria with tinnitus not long ago, came in to the room. It was not necessary for him to check on Austria, but he read Austria's medical record a moment ago and wanted to check it himself to see if what he just read was really true. Austria and Hungary didn't mind and let the doctor examine Austria's ears again. The doctor was very astonished after he was done.

"I don't understand…Your eardrums have recovered and the hair cells have fully healed as well…but…" The doctor said, one stuttered at the time.

"But what, doctor?" Austria asked.

"When the ear cells get ruined, they don't heal and when the eardrums get injured they don't heal that quickly!" The doctor said.

The doctor left Austria's room in complete disbelief, leaving the couple alone once again.

Hungary was amazed as well, but mostly very happy.

"How could this have happened I wonder…"Hungary said.

Austria took Hungary's hand, scooted a bit to the side and made a sign so Hungary would sit on the bed beside him. Austria still held Hungary's hand and put his free arm around her.

"After the drinking and cutting I ended up in some sort of nothingness world. I am not sure if it was real or not, but it did feel very real"

"What are you saying?" Hungary asked.

"One theory I have for this sudden healing is that I am a country and countries withstand and heal faster than normal humans but what I mostly believe is…I died for a moment and came back to life all over again" Austria looked down at the stark white sheet.

"But you haven't forgotten anything or anyone from your life, you remember me, what you did, and even the doctor" Hungary said.

"Elizaveta, I don't know anything about things like that. Maybe it was Gods way of giving me a second chance or maybe it was all just a realistic dream" Austria said.

"Doesn't matter what it was, what matters is that you are alright now" Hungary said.

Austria shifted his gaze to Hungary. He gave her a small smile and a nod. He gave her a peck on the lips and rested his head on Hungary's shoulder. He fell asleep almost right away. Hungary embraced Austria and looked out the window.

"Please look after him, _Isten._ You gave him another chance to live, please be sure nothing happens to him for his sake, for his peoples sake, for the worlds sake and for… my sake" Hungary prayed inside her to God.

Hungary, still sitting next to Austria on the bed with his head on her shoulder, covered herself and Austria up with the blanket and fell asleep. May God listen to her prayer.

**The end**


End file.
